Wherever you go
by XXinsidemymindXX
Summary: A collection of oneshots/drabbles focusing on a sarcastic warrior and a crownless princess. Fluff, angst and everything in between is ensured. Spoilers for as far as the English manga has reached may be apparent, so be aware. Chapter 10: The second instalment in 'Yona's firsts': Yona's first attempt at bartering
1. Tea Party

_Since I wrote the last one-shot, several small scenes has popped into my head and, just as annoying as Hak can be, they refuse to disappear before I write them down. So you see my dear readers, I had no choice in the matter. As each one is not much more than a drabble and thus way too small to post as a complete fic, I thought I would gather them together in a one-shot collection focusing on Hak and Yona and their relationship. There will be fluff, angst and everything in between._

_Ps, I do not own anything but my own imagination, and I most certainly do not profit from writing. So be kind to a poor penning-less writer and let me know what you think: review, follow, favourite! Whatever floats your boat._

_First Out: Tea Party, or as I like to call it: The one time Hak ended up in a pink outfit. Oh yes I did… I should feel ashamed of myself. _

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><p><strong><em>Tea Party<em>**

Royals…

After spending a single afternoon in the royal castle in the capital, Hak could with great confidence conclude one thing: royals were a pain.

Young, annoying princesses with pretty eyes even more so than the rest of the irritating bunch.

Now that he had turned nine, his grandfather, the great Son Mundok, General of the proud Wind Tribe, had decided he was old enough to come with him on one of his trips to the capital city and the Hirjuu Castle. His adopted fathers' figure had thought it was time that he saw more of the world and learnt to know the royal family since he was destined to lead the clan when he grew up and his grandfather retired.

He had waited for that day to come for years! He had always wanted to see the capital and all its wonders, to try new foods, to meet new people and to learn new things.

He had _not_ expected to be tackled upon arrival by a tiny, pink, fluff ball who had excitedly announced that she had waited _foreeeever_ for him to arrive, because: "All the grown-ups are so boring; daddy and mommy are always busy doing boring ceremonies. You will play with me, won't you Hak? Daddy told me you and uncle Mundock was coming today and it's been foreeeever since I have someone my own age to play with." The energetic little girl stated before letting go off the rather stiff boy in her arms in favour of reaching out a small, feminine hand to grab his own.

A gesture he reciprocated with just the slightest hint of hesitation.

A girl? He had no clue how to play with girls, and even less with princesses. When he played with his friends in the wind tribe they usually started playing ball, and ninety-nine per cent of the times it ended up with the boys wrestling each other, and albeit Hak did not have the most extensive experience on the matter, he figured it was probably not exactly how girls usually played together. He desperately begged his grandfather with his eyes to help him but the old traitor just smirked at him with a smug look on his face and nodded for him to follow the tiny, fragile girl in the massive pink dress as she dragged him away to her quarters.

Hak mentally grumbled at the old treacherous geezer who had so unsympathetically left him to his fate as he was dragged through unimaginable huge corridors decorated by carefully hand-picked matching luxurious interior. He really wanted to stay and look at the ancient looking armour that flashed by in his periphery vision but realised clearly that such a simple wish would not be heard through the young princess' plans for him.

What had he done to deserve this?

And that's how he ended up in the most luxurious, girly room he had ever seen. It was filled to the brim with bright coloured toys and pink fabric. Hak could not help but wonder why it all had to be pink? But being here would not have been so bad in itself if he had not been talked into joining the young princess's tea party. The attendees consisted of the young princess, two of her carefully decorated dolls and him. And if that was not humiliating enough in itself, she had also somehow, how he could not quite put his finger on, managed to talk him into changing into something, "prettier than his traveling clothes." Because: "When you go to a tea party you are supposed to have pretty clothes on." The little girl with the flamingly red hair had insisted eagerly before turning around to ask the maid for something pink for the slightly older, black-haired boy sitting next to her looking utterly morose.

If any of his friends back at the tribe mansion saw him now he would never be able to show his face in public again.


	2. I'd never forgive

_Chapter 2: I'd never forgive- A slightly darker insight in Yona's thoughts as she is gazing down on a wounded Hak's unconscious body._

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><p><em>I'd never forgive you for dying.<em>

Her own words, uttered in deepest desperation and fear, echoed in her mind as she saw him lying on the bed in front of her, barely just breathing and so badly injured it was still a question of, 'if' rather than 'when' he would wake up.

Hak could not die, not yet, not like this.

As annoyingly, frustratingly rude and obnoxious as he could be, he was everything she had left. He was her childhood friend. He was the single most important human being to her in that very moment and she had acted more on instinct than rational thinking when she had left her hiding-spot to stop them from shooting him. She could simply not let them kill him to get to her. She would rather let them have her than cause him any more pain. He just could not die. She needed him, needed his strength and bravery. She knew it was too much to ask for but she still had to.

There was no one else.

It is not an easy burden to carry to be completely dependent of someone else, and it is an even heavier burden to bear if that person would get hurt because you were to useless to be able to protect yourself.

She listened, horrified, to what the peculiar boy in the other corner of the room told her when he, rather indifferently, listed the many, extremely severe, injuries Hak had sustained due to her. She closed her hands and prayed, to whom she was not entirely sure, for his recovery to come quick and painless.

She opened her eyes again; staring down on her unconscious childhood friend she made a promise to become stronger. So that there would come a time when he would be free from his promise to protect her.

So that she, in time, could protect herself.

And maybe… even him.


	3. To throw away a memory

_Chapter 3: To throw away a memory- Letting go of the past hurts, but only by doing so can one grow as a person._

_Because it can't just be me who wonders when she will finally let go._

_AN: Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed favoured and followed this little collection! It warms my heart and makes me all giddily when seeing it : D_

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><p>The sun was setting on the eve of her seventeenth birthday.<p>

A year had gone by since that night. Looking back at it, it seemed so far away. So much had happened and so many things had changed. _She_ had changed so much. She did not normally thought much of her previous life as a spoiled, air headed princess with no real knowledge of her surroundings. She did not particularly miss that part, the part of who she used to be.

Tonight though, tonight was different. Tonight a lot of 'if's' and 'buts' persistently hang around in the air, filling her mind with pointless thoughts, calling for her attention and making her ask questions she usually buried deep underneath.

They had set camp half way through a mountain range they had to cross and she found herself moving away from the others in an uncommon, unfamiliar wish to be alone with her thoughts. She had stepped out of the warm circle of friends in favour of finding a more secluded spot where she could think. She walked away from the pathway towards the edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her feet dangle and staring down into the abyss, quietly observing the many hundreds of meters of empty nothingness between her and the bottom of the range. Then she sighed to herself and picked up a hairpin from her inner pocket.

She had been carrying that thing around for a whole year now.

She let her fingers follow the outline of the decorative piece, paid great attention to the intricate details, from the small lilac butterfly to every brittle petal. She found herself pondering who the craftsman could have been, what could have motivated him to create the fragile masterpiece? Had Soo-Won possibly ordered him to do so or had her childhood friend maybe picked the finished piece out for her at a market?

Yona sighed once more; there was really no point in asking those questions. She would never acquire an answer and it just hurt more to linger on the subject. She hugged the small decorative hair pin, held it close to her heart for a single heartbeat.

Then she stretched out the hand cradling it over the edge of the cliff, let it hover in the air for a second.

And opened her palm.

Tears burned in the corner of her eyes, but she blinked them away. They did not belong any-more.

Then she felt a warm hand on her left shoulder and she heard a soft voice in her ear.

"I'm proud of you princess." Hak whispered gently before turning her around and hugging her closely.

"Hak, I… I didn't know you followed me." She stuttered, startled by his presence.

"I'm always by your side princess." He whispered back before letting go of her and straightening himself out. "I have something for you." He continued in the same uncharacteristic, kind and soft voice while pulling out something he had held hidden behind himself and gave it to her. It was very heavy, about a meter long and wrapped in a thick piece of grey woollen fabric. "You did not honestly think I would forget your birthday now did you?"

She un-wrapped the gift and pulled out a small sword. It had a fine, thin blade and thick handle. The sheath was decorated with engraved, intricate images of small dragons.

Yona stared at the gift dumbfounded for a moment. Hak gave her a sword? He, who had been against her learning swordsmanship from the very beginning, gave _her_ a sword in birthday present? She let her fingertips trail along the dark-brown leather-sheath, slowly touching each dragon before moving her hands up towards the leather covered handle and pulling the shining blade out, admiring its shine and perfect balance. It was a well-made sword and it must have cost him a fortune, no doubt.

"It is a smaller model, so you can swing it comfortably and it has a thick stop so you can't hurt yourself." Hak smiled gently. "The hairpin might have suited the old you. The one you used to be a year ago, an air headed naïve girl who only cared about the surface. But I believe this suits the new princess much better, something much more practical. A steel blade: a victory yielding, unbreakable blade for an unwavering, powerful princess, a symbol of her new-found inner strength."


	4. Porridge making

_Chapter 4: Porridge making- Because no one is a master chef in the beginning_

_A lighter one today to weigh up for the past two, slightly more serious drabbles I've presented. I've been playing around with a few of Yona's 'firsts'. Living a sheltered live as a spoilt princess must almost certainly create some awkward situations when forced out into the harsh reality of life and all its small inconveniences, so without further ado: _

_Yona's first ever attempt at making dinner. _

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><p>The odd group had surprisingly quickly found new routines. They all got up at the first dawning light, packed up their few belongings, made a quick breakfast and headed off. They usually walked until the sun reached its highest point and then paused for some lunch, if they had any, during the hottest hour of the day before setting off again. After setting camp an hour before sunset, Hak and Jae-Ha, the two most skilled hunters, left the small group in search for fresh protein while Shin-Ah gathered wood for the fire. Yoon, the best cook, usually picked edible roots, mushrooms and herbs as he walked and thus, when they stopped he set out to prepare them while waiting for meat to arrive. Kija usually gathered water for the cooking and for everybody to wash themselves and together with Zeno helped the others with giving their clothes a rinse when needed.<p>

That left Yona with nothing to do. In the beginning she had fail to notice it, and in all honesty, it probably took her a bit longer to figure it out than it would have taken for a person of non royal descent. But growing up within a castle and having servants heed your every need: from clothing, to hair brushing to cooking and cleaning for her, one could hardly blame her for not seeing what would have been very obvious for most others: That it had been unanimously and wordlessly decided among the remaining members of the group to spare the princess the tedious chores that came with travelling and everyday life.

When the young princess finally caught on that she seemed to be the only one without a designated daily chore she decided to do something about it. It was very well for the rest to decide that she was to weak/fragile/occupied or whatever they had thought her to be, to help out but she had no intention of playing along with their little scheme.

"Yoon, I want to cook dinner tonight." She stated resolutely with her hands on her hips as she confronted the teenager who had been focusing on his previous task of peeling oats from their stem in order to prepare porridge for dinner.

"Huh? Yona, what are you saying, I'm in the middle of doing so right now, don't worry about it, you can cook tomorrow if you like." The sandy blonde said dismissively before returning to his task at hand, thinking that was the end of the conversation.

Yona however, had no intention on backing down so easily….

"No, I want to cook tonight. You cook every night, it's my turn now." The crimson-haired young girl stated while folding her arms across her chest and staring down at her friend.

Yoon went silent for a few seconds before raising himself from him previous kneeling positing to stand up and look the young princess in the eyes with a calculating gaze.

"Have you ever made porridge before?" The sandy-blonde haired boy asked her with no small amount of doubt evident in his voice and she could feel her cheeks grow warm under his stern, sky-blue gaze.

"Eh… No…" She admitted quietly before continuing, now with more determination in her voice: "But I want to help." She said and smiled disarmingly as she tried to coax him into giving into her idea.

Yoon looked at her with a doubtful look on his face for a while before sighing to himself. _What's the worst that could happen?_ He thought as he nodded his approval.

"Fine then, I'll let you do it." He said while handing her the basket of unpeeled oats. "Here, peel and boil these. When Hak and Jae-Ha comes back, all you have to do is fry the meat if they bring any." He told her as he walked away.

Yona looked down on the bowl in her hand. At first surprised how easy it was to convince him and then her eyes widened when she realised what had actually happened.

She could not cook!

Well. He had told her what to do, and it didn't sounded too hard, she could do this Yona encouraged herself while sitting down with the bowl in her lap and starting to peel the small grains to reveal their healthy and filling inner treasure.

A little later when Hak and Jea-Ha returned - neither with anything more substantial than a couple of frostbitten apples Hak had spotted on the dark ground - they both stopped mid-step upon seeing the princess sitting crouched over a big bowl of oats, beads of perspiration glittering on her upper lip from the effort of trying to perform the fiddly task she had claimed to be her own.

Not quite sure how to process this new information the two males ended up just staring at the young princess for a moment, and while doing so, calling her attention away from the bowl of grains as she could feel their gazes.

"Hak, Jea-Ha, I'm making dinner!" Yona called out and smiled enthusiastically.

"Oh… That's great Yona." Jea-Ha, the first to collect himself after the initial surprise, responded smiling.

Hak, on the other hand, took a second longer to comprehend the situation and compose himself, but when he did, a smirk slowly crept onto his face as he turned to the group's healer and casually enquired if Yoon was planning on poisoning the camp?

"HAK! You are so mean. I should let you go hungry tonight!" Yona responded in a high pitched voice while a furious blush painted her delicate cheeks pink.

Hak merely shrugged at that and sat down next to a nearby tree to relax a bit before dinner.

_..._

The moment was here. It was time to do the first tasting.

Yona proudly handed out the deep bowls to everybody and looked at them expectantly. It was not every day she made something of her own and she desperately hoped they would enjoy the simple but filling meal. However, the male members of the group looked at each other hesitantly, giving each other looks and small, discrete head-shakes that said: '_you try it first'. 'No you do it.'_

Yona caught on pretty quickly though since no one had yet ventured to touch their food and so she picked her victim.

"Hak, what do you think?"

Hak looked down on the wooden bowl in his hands and sighed slightly while mumbling a small pray before lifting the spoon to his mouth.

And instantly regretted his decision.

The remaining members looked at the tall warrior with various degrees of horror as he grew paler, skin acquiring an unhealthy greenish tint to it as he forced himself to swallow the spoonful before slowly lowering the spoon again, and subconsciously covering his mouth with his hand.

"P-princess, I don't know how you did it, but you somehow managed to both under-cook, over-salt _and_ burn the porridge at the same time as somehow making it taste rotten, a feat I can't comprehend how you managed since I saw Yoon pick the oats on the way just today…" He stated before swallowing a couple of more times and looking around with a panicked expression in his pale face in search for water to rinse the foul taste away.

Yona, on the other hand, were sitting on the ground with a deep frown decking her delicate features. She was clearly insulted by the mockery of her cooking but also slightly worried by the warrior's extreme reaction to it, Hak was not exactly known for being picky with food or wincing without good reason and her eyes widened when Hak turned another shade paler and more green, quickly covering his mouth and getting up with haste.

The ruined porridge apparently did not sit very well with his stomach at all. He ducked in behind the tree he had previously been leaning against and they could all, very clearly, hear him heaving up the awful dinner together with everything else that he had eaten that day.

Needless to say, the group unanimously banned Yona from ever getting close to the cooking fire again.


	5. Jealousy

_Chapter 5: Jealousy- or the desire to claim ownership _

_O my, I had entirely too much fun writing this. Someone ought to stop me from torturing Hak so much, but it is so fun and easy: He is a tad bit too stoic for his own good and that makes me want to poke and tease him to no end. Yes, I am a bad person. I know. _

_Even though I always strive to keep the characters true to themselves I have to admit I kinda of went a tiny bit OOC with Hak's reaction to the entertainment ladies in this one. I am aware that Hak would most probably have just shut the door and ignored them, but what's the fun in that? _

_On a completely unrelated note, even though I still have plenty of one-shots to write. I have decided it would be an interesting, fun challenge to start accepting prompts, if wished for of course. So if you have an idea, send me a PM, and if it tickles my fancy, then I might be able to write it :)._

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><p>When the two half-naked girls had knocked on the door to his room just as he was about to throw himself on the bed, - gods, how long had been since he had known the luxury of sleeping in a proper bed? - It had taken him completely by surprise.<p>

He had assumed it was Yona who wanted something, and quickly tossed his shirt back on before opening the door, only to be meet by two pairs of perfectly round breasts of ample magnitude mere centimetres from his face.

"Hi Master Hak; the lord sent us to make sure your stay was a pleasant one." The one closest to the door greeted him, a stunningly beautiful, tall brunette dressed in a small black skirt and a laced corset of the type that higher nobles wore underneath their normal clothes, which left very little to the imagination.

"Yes, we know very well how to make you feel happy and content with your stay here." The second one giggled, with no little amount of innuendo very apparent in the tone of her voice as she let her gaze greedily trail down the tall, well-built man's body. Up and down and then up again her gaze traced before she pushed the door open a bit more to allow her and her friend to sneak into his allocated room for the night. She was shorter than her friend but more than weighted up for it in beauty; she had stunning blue eyes and fair skin which well accompanied a thick blonde braid reaching all the way to her lower back. She was dressed in a thin robe and judging by how the silky material caressed her firm body when she moved, nothing else…

In Hak's defence, he was but a man. Clearly the customs were different here, in an exotic country far away from Kouka, to which they had ventured in the hopes of gathering allies against Soo-Won. Who could blame him for losing his cool for a moment in favour of staring speechlessly at the two exotic beauties? Something they took for approval and nodded towards each other before heading towards his bed where they made themselves comfortable.

Then he gathered his senses:

"Erhm, ladies, I appreciate your concern but I am perfectly fine, you can ensure your lord I have everything I need." He responded, rather stiffly.

"No no no, that won't do." The blonde disagreed, "We are here to heed to your _every,_ need Master Hak, the good lord will be very offended if you don't accept his offer." She explained while getting up from the bed and walking over to him. She stood up on her toes to reach and leaned in to gently place a sensual kiss on the side of the perplexed man's neck. "I can give you pleasures you have never known Master Hak, and I am sure you can do the same for me, so strong and handsome you are." She whispered in his ears while her lips and tongue created an overwhelmingly pleasurable trail along the sensitive skin on his neck.

Her actions caused him to involuntarily shudder, he was not made of steel after all… His mind was was working feverishly, how could he get out of this awkward situation without offending his host and cause a disruption in the very sensitive diplomatic negotiations?

In the meantime the brunette decided to join in. She too, stepped off the bed and walked over to the other two, and she wasted no time trying to persuade the shocked warrior but rather went straight to the point by pressing her generous breasts against him while reaching in to fumble with the string that held his pants up. That woke him up from his momentarily paralysis and he grabbed her hand to stop her from venturing any further into a situation he was not the least bit comfortable pursuing.

"HAK!"

Hak swirled around towards the door at the sound of the familiar, and in that moment, very upset voice and caught the glimpse of a furiously blushing and shocked Yona before she bolted away from the room. Oh crap, of course it had to be her…

"Princess, wait! It's not what it looks like." He raced after her, leaving the ladies in his quarters behind, completely forgotten. However, as he rushed through the luxurious hallways of the mansion, chasing after the princess, he could not help but smirk to himself. Her expression, she had definitely been embarrassed about walking in on her body-guard in a compromising position, but that was not all of it… her face has also displayed something more, a hint of… jealousy?

If he was right, then it was the first sign she had ever exhibited of possessiveness, of her not being completely comfortable with him having other female acquaintances.

To him, it was a very welcome sign…


	6. Coup de grace

_Chapter 6: Coup de Grace._

_I can't really decide how I feel about this one. Sort of a mix of an inner monologue and a slightly pretentious poem... Any thoughts on how I can improve it, or my writing in general, is always appreciated!_

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><p>Hak's fingers clenched the spear; they twitched with the desire to run the sharp armament through his old friend. To let the crimson river cover those frozen orbs and wash away the sins that could not be forgiven.<p>

He had him.

He finally had him.

Right here, lying flat on his back in the filthy mud, he had the usurper within a spear length's distance, looking up at him with empty eyes.

Had they always been so empty? If so, how could he not have seen it earlier? Or if not, when had they lost their warmth? Had it possibly been a gradual process, in which So-Woon's humanity had been slowly chipped away, little by little? Or had the change possible occurred in a single moment's time, perhaps while he damned his soul by committing the ultimate misdeed?

Either way, it was not natural and he did not deserve to keep breathing. Not after everything he had done.

Killing the kind king.

Hurting the princess.

Betraying his trust…

The tall, raven-haired warrior moved the spear a little closer, so that it graced the soft skin underneath the jawline. He could feel the muscles in his hand shiver with anticipation and a barely contained hatred. It would be so easy. One more soul added to the long list of people Hak had killed in battle would not make a difference.

Hak bent down next to him, spear still closely marking So-Woon's neck. He grabbed the other man's collar and half lifted him up, bringing So-Woon's cold face closer to his and the other man still did not move a muscle. The empty gaze of his oldest friend sent shivers down Hak's spine as the seconds ticked by. The feeling of unnaturalness grew stronger by every fleeting moment and with a slight jerk Hak moved the sharp weapon closer to the other man's throat. With ease it pierced the skin and a small trickle of red appeared on the skin, sharply contrasting the alabaster perfection.

If he just kept pushing a few more millimetres, he would slice the carotid artery, the fragile, thin pipe of life essence.

Coup de Grace.

The finishing move.

The end.

His knuckles grew white as an engulfing rage coloured the world red and made his whole body tremble violently in his efforts to regain some sort of control. His whole being screamed to kill the man that had destroyed everything, and yet, something held him back. Despite everything that had happened, he could not look into those icy-blue, empty eyes and murder his best friend in cold blood.

He just could not do it.

And it destroyed him.


	7. A small glimpse

_Chapter 7- A small glimpse_

_A rainy day, a first meeting and a small glimpse into a future yet to be written: A sweeter one today for all you sugar addicts out there._

_A/N: Wow! What a response, I am humbled and so very grateful for all the favourites and followers I have received and I would like to send a special thank you to **vane553**, **Destinies Entwined, Sara, Amazing** and **fading ink** for your incredibly lovely and kind reviews! _

_Writing Hak and Yona in a high school universe proved a far greater challenge than I first imagined, trying to anticipate their respective reactions to meeting each other was near impossible but it was also very fun so keep the prompts coming! This one goes out to you **vane553**_

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><p>It had not been his intention to interfere at all but when he entered the school's training field and saw a small girl sitting on the grandstand, curled up with her legs pressed against her petite chest and arms wrapped around her knees, he sighed to himself. There was a reason he usually preferred to run when the rain drizzled down. It scared everybody else away from the field, allowing him to have the field for himself and he did not mind the feeling of the chilled rain against his skin. He kept warm by moving around and he loved the smell of wet grass underneath his sneakers.<p>

Hak was not really a loner, he had plenty of friends, his status as the best sportsman in the school ensured that and his dry, slightly morbid sense of humour attracted like-minded peers. No, he really did not mind the company of others, sometimes he just preferred solitude. To be able to think clearly and not be disturbed by the endless chatter that came with other humans.

After contemplating his options for a moment- she had apparently not noticed him, the rain must have drenched the sound of his footsteps and she held her head hidden, leaning it against her knees- he made up his mind. He could not help but notice that she was shivering in the cold air and completely drenched from top till bottom and as much as he tried to deny it, it was hard not to take pity on the pathetic figure.

"You know you'll catch a cold if you sit out here in the rain like that." He commented dryly as he walked closer to the younger girl. She responded by pulling up her head quickly and frowning when she realised she was not alone any more, revealing what must be a very beautiful face when not swollen and puffy from bawling her eyes out: delicate features framed warm eyes and soft red lips.

'_Fantastic'_ he grumbled to himself, now he had to comfort a crying freshman from whatever her childish tears could stem. He could never catch a break could he?

Nevertheless, he was here and no matter his how strong desire to be left alone was, his sense of duty was stronger and he could just not leave the young girl out there in the middle of the rain. So he stretched out a hand in a welcoming gesture for her to grab his and follow him inside.

Yona stared up at the taller, dark-haired senior for a moment. She knew who he was; _everybody _knew who So Hak was. It was impossible not to. But what she did not know was why he had bothered approaching her. There was no reason for him to show any kindness towards a stranger and in the worst case scenario he was just being kind to her so he could mess with her later.

She also realised she must look like a complete mess, soaked to her bones, puffy face from crying and with her unruly hair lying plastered to her head. Even though she told herself that it did not matter how he found her, she could feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks: out of all the people in the school, she had to be busted by the most popular one, god he must think she was such a dork.

Yet she felt like she could trust him. She could not pinpoint the feeling, and maybe she was naïve, but she desperately needed a friend. Someone who she could rely on when her world came crashing down on her. Walking in on her boyfriend So-Woon, whom she had loved and adored since she was a child, in bed with someone else had hurt more than she could imagine and she felt so incredibly alone.

"Come on; let's go inside, you are completely drenched. You can use my towel to dry yourself on." His next words woke her up from her thoughts and she saw him smiling warmly as he tried to convince her to get out of the rain. After a moment's hesitation she raised herself from the wet cement bench, grabbed his still outstretched, warm hand and followed him inside.

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><p>When she retold the story to their grandchildren of how she first met their grandfather she could never quite explain why she had decided to follow him, she never found any words that fully covered what she felt. The only words that seemed to at least partially describe her feelings were always the simplest ones there was:<p>

"I felt like I could trust him."


	8. Submerged

_Chapter 8: Submerged - She caught a glimpse of a tress of dark hair just as it submerged into the dark, freezing-cold river-water._

_A short one today, because I should really pay more attention to my oh so overdue assignments, but could not even pretend to focus until I got this out of my system._

_Yes I am a sucker for pain, have you not figured this out yet?_

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><p>It all happened so fast.<p>

In one second Yona heard the thin ice under them creak alarmingly as Hak went down on his knees, dropping his Hsu Quando in favour of clutching his right thigh and letting out a single hissing breath of pain as the wayward arrow drilled itself deep into his flesh.

In the next moment she felt a strong arm wrap itself around her torso and pick her up as if she weighted no more than a feather and toss her with inhuman strength all the way to the other river bank, far away from their pursuers and the unstable ice that was getting closer to crack with every second under the pressure their combined weight presented. The young princess landed rather ungracefully on her backside but her fall was luckily dampened by the foot-deep soft glittering snow on the ground. As soon as the world had at least somewhat stopped spinning she rushed up and let her gaze sweep across her frozen surroundings, searching frantically for him and fixating her eyes on the big hole in the crystal-clear ice which had not existed mere moments ago. She caught a glimpse of a tress of dark hair just as it submerged into the dark, freezing-cold river-water.

Fear ripped through her stomach with raw intensity and embedded itself into the bottom of her chest, making it near impossible to breathe and she struggled to force air into her protesting lungs. She wanted to scream but the words refused to erupt from her shivering lips as she silently shaped her mouth around his name.

She could not believe it; he had done it again, sacrificed his own safety to protect her. The ice had been so close to giving in already and the quick shift of weights when he had picked her up must have presented the final blow to its fragile state.

As in a haze she observed her pursuers closing in on her, hundreds of them trying to find a way across the cracked ice. Dark figures that distinctively contrasted the pure white environment, carrying sharp swords which glittered in the cold afternoon sun, slowly, carefully, tested the ice. They took a long detour around the pitch-black hole in which Hak had disappeared mere moments ago in order to reach their ultimate goal: the red-haired, previous princess of Kouka Kingdom.


	9. Among Potions and Dragons

_Chapter 9: Potions and Dragons - Jae-Ha was many things, suicidal was not one of them_

_Wow, I have just spent an hour catching up on the English manga; I cannot believe that they chose to release eight new chapters in one day! I am bubbling over with AnY feels at the moment and wrote this as a result, I am now fully convinced Jae-Ha ships Hak and Yona together._

_This one is written for a Guest reviewer who requested a fic relating to the 'love potion incident,' and as for how he got more, I am sure Jae-Ha tricked Ki-Ja's grandmother into giving him some under the premise that he would use it to get the white dragon a wife. _

_I would also like to extend a special thank you to **Destinies Entwined** and **vane553** for your never-ending support, you have no idea how happy and grateful I am for it. It goes beyond words…_

_As well as a grateful thank you, to my **Guest** reviewers, **LovelyLovelessInDenial**, **foureyesfreak27** and **Anatoli** and all those who have favourite and followed my little collection._

_With love / insidemymind_

_PS. writing fic's about making Hak's life harder than it has to be is always fun. I hope you all like it._

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><p>Hak could not believe it.<p>

He was going to kill Jae-Ha.

He was actually going to kill the infernal dragon for doing this.

If this was the green dragon's idea of a joke he had an awful sense of humour. It was not funny, not at all and it was most certainly way out of line.

Hak's mind buzzed with gory images of revenge while he desperately tried to push a surprisingly strong and very determined princess away from his most private parts, without hurting her in the process of course.

"Princess, listen to me," he begged while a furious blush painted his cheeks bright red. "You are not yourself. The damned snake tricked you into drinking a love potion. This is not what you really want," Hak almost cried out in panic as as he tried to talk some sense into the love struck princess who seemed determined to have her way with him. Hak could not believe the boldness of her actions but then again, they had all seen the devastating effects the potion had on the drinker and that it seemed to affect everybody slightly different.

In Jae-Ha's case, the green dragon became overwhelmed with affection and a gruelling desire towards the white dragon, which he up until then was determined to hate, and in extension managed to severely traumatise poor Ki-ja in the process.

In Shin-Ah's case, he seemed content just staring longingly at the green dragon from afar. Not acting on his chemically constructed feelings but unwilling to leave the subject of his affections alone either.

In Ki-Ja's case, the intense power of his feelings overwhelmed him so to the degree that it frightened him and he fled the scene to avoid acting upon them.

However, in Yona's case…

If Hak had found it hard to resist her when she was her normal, oblivious self, then it was a thousand times worse right now. He suddenly found himself forcefully grabbing the young princess wrists in a desperate attempt to stop her wandering hands, only to have the young princess alter her tactics by leaning in closer and breathing seductively in his ear, whispering things he never thought would cross her lips. Hell, where did she even learn about what a man and a woman could do together? Hak seriously doubted she had received any official schooling or training in how to seduce a man but she was nonetheless mastering the class effortlessly. He felt his own body respond in an obvious but very unwelcome way to the offered invitation and the close proximity to the petite, stunningly beautiful girl in front of him and no matter how much he tried to will it away he could feel his cheeks blush, even more flamingly red than before, as he roared:

"DROOPY EYES! I KNOW YOU ARE NEAR. GET YOUR ROTTEN ARSE DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW! I. WILL. KILL. YOU."

In a tree not far from the awkward, struggling couple a tall man with hair as green as polished emerald snickered to himself as he quietly observed them._ 'Well if that was not enough to get them two together, then nothing will ever be,' _he thought as he leaped of the branch straight out into the open air.

He fully intended to get as far away from the furious man as daylight allowed.

Jae-Ha was many things. However, suicidal was not one of them.


	10. Lessons in bartering

_Chapter 10: Yona's first attempt at bartering._

_Firstly. Wow! I have never had such a response to a chapter in anything I have written. I am all teary eyed and my heart is bursting with happiness over all the nice words. It glads me immensely that you like what I write! I would also like to welcome all my new readers that has favourite/followed this small collection, I am so glad to have you with me!_

_Secondly, as some of you must have noticed my updates have slowed right down lately, and for this I am very sorry. I do have a valid reason though, I promise!_

_If I thought full time studies and two jobs was keeping me occupied before, adding a relatively? hard pregnancy has not helped at all (So a fair warning, I might add a chapter or two about the joys of pregnancy later on, because that is what's on my mind 24/7 at the moment. I promise to warn sensitive readers beforehand)_

_Furthermore as a consequence of this, I will stop taking prompts for a little while. I feel guilty that you are all giving me these amazing ideas and I don't have the time/energy to do something good with them. I promise that I will write a chapter for each of the prompts I have received up until now but I will not take any new ones on, at least for now…_

_And last but not least: I present you all with the second instalment in 'Yona's firsts': Yona's first attempt at bartering _

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><p>It had been decided that the money they had managed to scrape together by selling the medicine at the market would go towards supplies for the group. Winter was fast approaching and not all of them dealt with the cold equally well. Even though she did not like to admit it, the shoes Yuun had given her in the beginning of their long search all those months ago were in reality thin summer shoes and did not provide much warmth now that frost had begun covering the ground in the mornings<p>

After having quietly observed Yona's first pathetic attempts at bargaining from a few meters afar Hak sighed resignedly and stepped in before she spent their whole capital in her naïve eagerness. A personal trait which the merchant had quickly noted and now fully took advantage of by selling her all sorts of crap that he made into items essential for life and worth diamonds with a smooth tongue and smiling lips, and Yona was too inexperienced to see the greed in his eyes that accompanied the flattering words.

Nope, it was time for Hak to step in and salvage what could be salvaged from the one-sided negotiations.

"Oi, Listen, she really does not need all this rubbish and she would never spend that much on those boots, the leather is appalling and the seaming is falling apart. I should drag you to the merchant's guild for pulling that crap on my friend."

His words had the exact effect he had hoped for. The merchant's eyes narrowed as he laid eyes on the new combatant: he glared sourly on Hak for taking away an easy sale but the faint glimmer in his eyes told Hak that he also acknowledged that this was an experienced player and that the rules of the game had just been altered.

And with that the game was on.

Yona stared wild-eyed at the two preoccupied males as insults and numbers went flying through the air in an astounding speed. She almost choked when she heard Hak be so rude to the friendly merchant, but the nasty words did not seem to faze the other man the slightest. If anything he seemed more determined than ever to make the sale.

Though halfway through the bargaining she suddenly picked up a small detail that had previously eluded her in the middle of the flying insults and prices.

Yona caught a glimpse of Hak's glittering eyes and crooked, faint smile and she realised with shock that he was actually enjoying himself. She had known since long that Hak had a strong sense of moneys value, he was a skilled negotiator and fluent in bartering but she had not realised that the banter and bartering actually brought him enjoyment. It was actually a part of his character to enjoy sarcasm and banter and she decided to step back in a physical sign of resignation as she let Hak have the stage for himself.

A little later when he approached her with glittering eyes, a smile he could not completely conceal and the pair of winter boots in his fist, she half expected a smart ass comment about her non-existent bartering skills but he just tossed the boots to her while showing of a wolfish grin.

"Next time it's your turn princess."


End file.
